MILWAUKEE – Mesfin Roda scored in the 70^th minute and Daniel Ibarra came through with his fourth shutout of the season as the Milwaukee men's soccer team claimed a quality 1-0 victory over Cleveland State Saturday evening at Engelmann Stadium.
 
The Panthers (6-3-4, 2-3-1 Horizon League) were on the front foot offensively all evening against the Vikings (4-6-3, 1-4-1 Horizon League), finally breaking through late with a goal to pick up three important points in the standings race.
 
"From start to finish, I think that is the best soccer we have played this season – definitely the best football I have seen our guys play," head coach Kris Kelderman said. "You know the last 10 minutes always gets a little hectic when they just start pushing numbers through and you have to get more defensive. Putting aside the last 10 minutes as far as the quality of soccer goes, I couldn't have asked for anything better from our guys."
 
The team now sits with seven points (2-3-1) and is just four points off the top spot in a very tight league race. The result also keeps the team unbeaten at home this season at 4-0-3.
 
"There was some pressure on everybody – conference game and we needed three points," Kelderman said. "We haven't lost a game at home, so that was something that we wanted to carry on with. The guys really stepped up well in a situation where the points were extremely important. And not only did they get the result, but I will say it again – outstanding soccer today from everybody – from our goalkeeper to the guys up top. The effort, the work ethic, the quality of soccer … I couldn't have asked for anything more."
 
Roda came through with the goal on an impressive individual effort, dribbling through traffic on the wing, regaining full possession of the ball before sending a shot to the far post that banged off the woodwork and in at the 69:54 mark.
 
Ibarra and the team defense did the rest, with Ibarra making a very crucial save in the 87^th-minute off a backheel shot that iced the victory and sent the Panthers to the big win.
 
The MKE offense owned nearly two-thirds of possession in the first half and had numerous opportunities that just missed finding the back of the net.
 
Just 1:39 in, Ryan Berghauer nearly had his third goal of the season, but an impressive save kept his well-struck header off a corner kick from Daiki Kumakawa out of the back of the net.
 
CSU's Ryan Poling finished the contest with a career-best nine saves, making another quality stop off a combo of touches from Alejandro Martinez and Kumakawa to Bienvenu Djunga, with Djunga nearly making it 1-0 at the 9:32 mark. Martinez also got a good chance in the 19^th minute on a thru ball, stopped again by Poling.
 
But the save of the night for the visitors came at the 48:26 mark, as Poling made a stunning stop of Jack Wagner's close-range full-volley off a Kumakawa free kick to keep the game scoreless at the time.
 
For the contest, Milwaukee finished with advantages of 19-10 in total shots and 10-3 in shots on goal, while winning the possession battle 55/45. Both teams wrapped up the evening with three corner kicks apiece. Kumakawa led the way offensively with a career-high five shot attempts, while Martinez finished with three. Ibarra was credited with three saves in the clean sheet, none bigger than that incredible stop in the 87^th minute.
 
Up next, the team takes its final break from league play when it heads to Louisville Tuesday, set for a kickoff of 6 p.m. CT.